Trojans force 17 turnovers which led to a huge offensive evening
Austin – Dallas Madison held Wylie to four third quarter points, steaming from 17 turnovers and sophomore guard Admon Gilder scored 25 points to lead the Trojans to a 92-55 victory in the Class 3A State Semifinals on Thursday afternoon at the Frank Erwin Center.
The victory sends Madison into the state finals where it will face the winner of Brookshire Royal/Yates game, set for 10 A.M. Saturday morning.
The Trojans (31-4) have relied on its defense all season long as well as having the depth of playing 13 players without losing a step. Not long after tip off, Wylie experienced it first hand.
While the defense steered, Gilder who led the Trojans in scoring as a freshman, kept the nets smoking on offense. He was nearly perfect from beyond the arc, going 7-of-8 and 11-of-9 from the field. JD Wallace was the only other player to score in double figures for Madison with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“They shot the ball so well today and got going early, credit them,” Abilene Wylie coach Russell Perkins said. He (Admon Gilder) can shoot it and we knew that. We tried to fine him but we weren’t able to do that. A lot it was in transition. We talked all week, if they shoot the ball like their capable we’ll shake their hand when it’s over. Gilder shot the ball so well, he was 7-of-8 from three-point range, they would have beat a lot teams tonight.”
Early on things started well for Wylie (34-6). Junior guard Mike Lopez answered Trojans Gilder with matching treys as the Bulldogs led 12-8. However, as time unfolded, keeping pace with Madison became a daunting task.
“In the first quarter we scored a little to keep it close”, says Perkins. We got going too fast in the second quarter. To their credit, they just make it hard on everybody. They made the right decisions at the exact right time.”
Lopez led the way for Wylie with 18 points while teammate Duane Hopper tossed in 10.
The Trojans led 26-19 after one quarter and pushed its lead 42-22 in the second with 2:35 to go. A large amount of its offensive production was delivered curtsey of its trapping style defense, which forced11 first half turnovers.
“Today we took it up on ourselves to make sure we would be in the title game on Saturday,” said Dallas Madison coach Damien Mobley. We respect the state so much, we try to give them what they want. We took care of our part to be the No 2 state ranked team, now we’re waiting to see if we’ll be competing against the No 1 team in the state (Yates).”
Later, Gilder stroked a trey from the right baseline as Madison trotted to the locker room with 49-27 lead.
“Admon Gilder been giving us those type performances for two years now. He’s only a sophomore,” says Mobley. He led us in scoring last year as a freshman. But he puts in the work and the time. So the things he do out on the court are never surprising to us. He told us. if you bring us down here, he’ll do whatever he have to get us out of here.”
Madison outscored Wylie 25-4 in the third quarter as time became an enemy and a friend for the Bulldog fans.
Winning meant more to the Trojans than just advancing to the title game, but maybe a chance to face Yates.
“Facing Yates would be an honor. My kids are really basketball phonetics,” added Mobley They read adds, they read the newspapers, they hear words on the street. Because of Yates history, my guys would feel honored to play them.
In the fourth quarter the Bulldogs found its offense, outscoring Madison 24-18 but it wasn’t nearly enough to stop a talented Trojan team, who could easily play in any classification.
